


tldr: ldr

by halfwheeze



Series: Winteriron Bingo 2019 (Round 1) [3]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Teenagers, Birthday Fluff, Comfort, Gift Fic, Hinted Parental Abuse (not explicit), Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Hurt/Comfort, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Malibu Tony Stark, Parental Humiliation, Steve and Howard are just mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 12:23:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18249764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfwheeze/pseuds/halfwheeze
Summary: bucky and tony may live three thousand miles apart, and bucky may not know tony's last name, but he's probably still in love with him, and that means birthday gifts.





	tldr: ldr

**Author's Note:**

> this is both for a prompt from my good friend zain and for one of my bingo squares! 
> 
> this fill is for winteriron square I4: Comforting!

Bucky is the first person to say that he’s a dumb, gay bitch. Well, he’s a dumb, bi bitch, but the integral parts are that he is really fucking stupid and loves boys. Well, one boy in particular, right now. He knows that he’s stupid as he writes what he’s writing, as he makes what he’s making, but he doesn’t care. 

It’s 11:57pm, May 28th, Eastern Standard time. In three minutes, in Bucky’s time zone at least, it will be Tony’s birthday. Even though it’s another three hours until it’s time for Tony’s birthday in California, Bucky doesn’t give a fuck. Celebrating International Tony Reallyveryintelligent’s Day is an all day activity, and the day starts at midnight. It started a couple of weeks ago, really, but that doesn’t matter. 

He doesn’t know Tony’s last name, but he’s still one of the best friends that Bucky has ever had. Tony likely won’t see whatever Bucky posts about him until well into tomorrow - his dad is hosting some big party for the ‘event’ that Tony had scoffed at through numerous text messages, dreading his own birthday like most kids did the dentist. Bucky had coaxed him into being at least excited to talk to Bucky the night of; Tony’s parents (bastards) leave for a cruise tomorrow at three PST, which means that Tony will want to be in voice chat at about 3:15. Bucky has already begged off of family dinner for tomorrow, and he’s real lucky that his mom understands the importance of friends, even the ones online. 

So, with all of this planned out, one could imagine Bucky’s surprise when his Discord starts ringing in a call at 12:01am, Eastern Standard, right after he’s posted his birthday post for Tony, and it’s not even a voice call but a  _ video  _ call, from Tony himself. Tony who never video calls. Tony who never sends selfies. Tony who is so shy about his appearance that Bucky has only ever seen pictures of his hands, or of his designs, never of Tony’s face. Bucky confirms the call and pauses his Spotify, placing his full attention with his Discord and the fuzzy video picture that’s getting less fuzzy by the second. When he can see clearly, Bucky nearly chokes on his own spit. 

Tony looks a little younger than seventeen. He has bright eyes with bags beneath them, but his face is so baby soft that he looks about fourteen, tops. He’s got a sweet curve to his mouth that says that he smiles a lot, but a sadness in his eyes that says it’s not always real. His nose is rounded at the tip, not big and not small, but perfect for his face. The arch of his eyebrows is expressive, and, all together, his Tony is a very pretty young man. However, there are two things that are most important. The first, less important thing is that Bucky’s Tony is  _ Tony Stark,  _ heir to Stark Industries and son of Howard Stark, one of the richest men in America. More importantly, secondly, his Tony is  _ crying.  _ At least, he has been crying, even if he’s trying to cover it up, Bucky can see the redness around his eyes, the tear tracks he hasn’t properly wiped away. 

“Tony, sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Bucky says, dropping  _ sweetheart  _ immediately even if he’s never been brave enough to call his friend that before, even in voice call. Tony is smiling through his tears in a way that looks like he’s happily swallowing knives, or something to that effect. Bucky wants to crawl through the screen just to hold him, a desire that he has had before, even in the beginning when they were only talking through tumblr DMs. Tony hiccups, and then he speaks, and he’s so goddamn pretty, even when he’s crying. 

“Hey Buckaroo. What’s up?” Tony asks, changing the subject like he always does when he’s upset (Bucky had to wrangle exactly how bad Tony’s dad is through several days of what felt like careful espionage, and he’s still not sure he knows the worst of it). He wants to hold Tony, card metal fingers through his hair, whisper to him and tell him that he’s alright, that he’s  _ good,  _ and that he’s worth everything Bucky wants to give him. 

“Back track, honey, I need you to tell me what’s up. I thought you were at a party tonight, Tones. What happened? Can you tell me? For me?” Bucky coaxes softly, and it’s a low blow, but whatever it takes, after all. Tony doesn’t like to put things on other people, so it’s better if it’s for Bucky’s sake; Tony knows that his friend will worry, will internalize it and blow it up, will think about it for days. Instead, Tony sighs. 

“Howard,” Tony says, which is what he always calls his father when the man isn’t in the room (other than  _ dear old dad,  _ which gives Bucky just as much of a bad feeling), and sighs again, “decided I was a disappointment again tonight. He said a lot of shit to me, in front of a lot of people, and managed to make it seem completely kosher. So, once again, I’m the rebellious shit kicker, and Howard comes out smelling like roses. It’s… god, it’s fucking bullshit.” Tony finishes with something that sounds like it starts as a laugh and ends as a sob, and Bucky winces. He doesn’t know how to comfort this, how to make it better, how to help at all, and he feels like such a piece of shit. 

“Check your @ mentions on tumblr,” he blurts, and Tony tilts his head and he looks so  _ cute  _ and Bucky wants to die. “Just… check your @ mentions. Please,” Bucky repeats, more confident this time, and Tony takes the distraction. He clicks out of the window he has Discord in, and Bucky can see him dragging the little box that has the video feed of Bucky in it, which just makes him smile. Tony is real cute, after all. He watches as Tony scrolls through things, and sees him see what Bucky posted. 

“Snowflake, what is this?” Tony asks, and the use of the nickname makes Bucky’s stomach drop out with butterflies like it does every time. It’s another story for another time, how Bucky got that nickname, but he thinks he would hate it if it came from anyone else. Bucky scrubs his metal hand on the back of his neck, giving Tony a shy smile. 

“A moodboard for you… and a fic for McKirk, maybe dedicated to you?” Bucky replies, biting his lip. He knows it’s a lot, but… it’s what Tony deserves. Star Trek is the fandom that made the two of them friends after all, a shared love of McKirk and a quiet respect for Spock that sometimes extended to shipping McSpirk or just Spirk but. Well. McKirk is special, because they’ve agreed that Tony is the Kirk type, suave and sunshine, while Bucky is more of a McCoy, gruff and reining Tony in, and. There’s something he wrote into Kirk’s character that will make it special for Tony, and there’s a reference in McCoy’s character that makes it specific and well… Bucky projected them onto McKirk, okay? He can admit that. 

_ “You,”  _ Tony says, cracking his first genuine smile of the call, “are a menace.” He only says that when Bucky does things that he thinks are too nice, and Bucky wants to do a hundred nice things. He watches as Tony reads over the fic (Tony once tried to explain how fast he reads to Bucky, saying things like twelve hundred words a minute and choking on a blush that Bucky could hear through the mic, and Bucky had just put him out of his misery by saying  _ “so, fast, right?”  _ which Tony had laughed at), and knows when he reaches the part that reads as too much. Kirk is trans and McCoy has a metal prosthetic and Tony looks at him like he hung the moon and Bucky is halfway in love with a boy three thousand miles away. 

“So… what did you think?” he asks after a few moments of silence, biting down hard on his lip. Tony stares at the box version of him hard, which Bucky almost feels as if it’s burning through his skin. 

“I just… Why? This must have been so much work, Bucky. And… exactly at 9? So… midnight for you? Exactly? Bucky,” Tony says, choking on his words, and Bucky wants to  _ hold him.  _

“I never want you to think you’re anything less than my top priority,” he says honestly, deep and almost growling in the way that he knows Tony likes based off of the way that it has inspired silence before, and Tony’s  _ looking at him.  _ Bucky wants him to look for the rest of forever and maybe keep looking. 

“You’re perfect. Did you know that? You’re the most perfect person I’ve ever met,” Tony tells him, and then Bucky is choking on a blush and Tony is looking like that cat that caught the canary. Bucky recollects himself. 

“I think that’s you, sugar. No matter what Howard says, no matter what anyone ever fuckin’ says, you are the most perfect person in the world, I promise you that. You are  _ perfect,”  _ Bucky emphasizes, going from teasing to imploring, and Tony freezes. 

“I think I like you more than I planned,” the Californian admits, word vomiting, and Bucky sighs in relief. 

“I’m damn glad. I’ve been likin’ you more than I planned for months. I know we’re far away, but… would you maybe like to… go together? Be mine?” Bucky asks stiltedly, feeling panic in his lungs even when Tony admitted himself first, because the idea that Tony wants him back is  _ otherworldly.  _ Tony nods. 

“Be mine, Valentine. I’m Tony Stark, I’m seventeen, I live in Malibu, and I’m about to graduate with my second doctorate, looking for a college to get my third. I really like this really great guy who has these really pretty blue eyes that I’ve just been staring at in his selfies for the longest time,” Tony says, giving him that ‘suave’ smirk that’s been so rumored, and Bucky loves it. He smiles back. 

“I’m Bucky Barnes. I’m eighteen, I’m going to college at NYU this June for engineering, I live in a shit neighborhood in Brooklyn with my best friend Steve. I like this real great fella named Tony with these big brown eyes that I’m just seein’ for the first time today, but I’d sure love to see them a lot from now on,” Bucky flirts back, and Tony flushes, dark red taking over his olive toned skin. Then, Tony seems to be thinking for a moment, biting his lip. 

“Speaking of New York… I’m coming to tour Columbia next month, and I haven’t booked a hotel yet… Think you could help me find somewhere to crash?” Tony asks, wording it vaguely, but Bucky can read between the lines. His heart nearly jumps out of his chest. 

“It’s a date,” he says. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! Prompt me @halfwheeze on tumblr!


End file.
